Ashley's Morning Routine & Mantra Exercise for you to try!

My new routine - that flowed so well this morning that i am officially implementing it into my daily life. (I have been doing variations of it everyday....so the activities are basically the same, i am just loving the new flow).

OKAY!

Wake up - usually around 7 (but i like 6am better)
Nala Breakfast, Let Nala out
Sun salutation/warrior/meditation
Put on the kettle
Shower/dress
Breakfast/tea
Nala walk/adventure
Down to work. No facebook checking (at least not immediately). God. why is that little element so essentially part of everyday! haha. The world will not end if i don't check my facebook.
Once i get my iphone it will just blend right in with blackberry checking. I actually lied above....inbetween waking and Nala breakfast - there is some hardcore blackberry time. haha.

So that's my routine...what is yours?! Check out my beginner's yoga sequence video if you are looking for a place to start. Add yoga to your morning! (the video is only 10 minutes - take that time for you! And if you tell yourself you don't have time - consciously get up 10 minutes earlier each day....practice the routine and see how you feel!) Be energized and fresh!

My personal practice has been very rich lately. Lots of hours on the mat, lots of deep mediations and relaxations, and major openings in my physical body. amazing.
Morning routine (yoga) is not my "practice" for the day. I get on my mat at least an hour everyday for asana/relaxation/meditation. (usually at Moksha Yoga Waterloo - my second home)
But if you are new to yoga - try the 10 minutes in the morning......i bet it will change your life!
GO!

Before I end my bantering...I just want to share one more little piece of my own routine (haha i know, lots of routines, but they are good for my erratic vata tendencies - keeps me on track).
At the close of my "mat" practice everyday (for the past month, since my special someone has been away - is when i started this new specific one) I repeat the same Mantra. It is more of an affirmation i suppose, but it is a very beautiful part of my practice.

I offer this piece of advice to everyone - pick a few words, a saying, a quote, something that means a lot to you, or inspires, uplifts, or makes you happy - and repeat it to yourself everyday. It doesn't necessarily have to come at the end of a yoga practice, perhaps it is before you sleep or when you wake up (or at all three times if you want!).
But - repeat this to yourself. Find strength, solace and pure happiness from it. I will not say what mind is specifically.....but here are some ideas:

"I am beautiful, I am brilliant"
"I am positive"
"I will use today to enjoy my journey"
"breathe, its a new and exciting day"
"live today for me!"
"I let go of fear, I rise to the occasion"
"I breath in positivity, I let go of negativity"

etc......you get the point!

This mantra or affirmation is something positive to hold on to, something negative to let go of, or an action to make what you want to affirm - happen!
The following is something that i have done in my practice for a long time....try it!

Mantra Exercise - for personal hapiness



1. pick your own personal mantra or affirmation (for example's sake we will use "I am strong and creative, I will work hard today"

2. quiet the body, be still (sit, stand, lay, doesn't matter), close the eyes

3. Take a deep inhale through the nose and repeat {your mantra} "I am strong and creative" (consciously taking those words into the body, letting them settle)

4. Exhale completely through the nose or mouth and repeat "I will work hard today" (letting go of anything negative that will stand in your way of affirming this to yourself)

5. Repeat.

That is the beauty of the breath - it is renewal. Each inhale we can breath in positivity and things we need, and each exhale we can breath out negativity and let go of the things that we don't.

Try it - breathe and be happy. Happiness is not something we search externally for, but something found within the heart of all beings. So connect to the breath, inhales and exhales, and experience your place of happiness within you.

GO!

Lots of Love,

Ashley